St. Patrick’s Day Celebration

I talked about the St. Patrick’s Day Parade in another Blog article and in this one I’ll show you the partying that goes on in Houston for the holiday and talk a little about its’ history.

I like to spend the holiday in an area of Houston called ‘The Montrose’. The best bars and most fun people are in The Montrose area.

It’s always a good time of the Spring to sit outdoors in Houston.

You’ll see lots of people in the festive spirit.

It’s a good time to spend with friends.

Some bars offer food while you drink.

Here’s two characters you might run into in The Montrose.

These next photos are from a bar called Griff’s.

They put up a big tent in their parking lot and it fills up with people partying for the holiday.

They have a Bagpipes player and everyone loves it.

There’s beer and drink stands in all areas of the tent, as well as inside the normal bar area. It gets really crowded, but it’s fun.

They have a stage set up and offer live music.

This makes the party lively and a really fun place to be.

Saint Patrick himself would have to deal with pinching on his feast day. His color was “Saint Patrick’s blue,” a light shade. The color green only became associated with the big day after it was linked to the Irish independence movement in the late 18th century.

Although he made his mark by introducing Christianity to Ireland in the year 432, Patrick wasn’t Irish himself. He was born to Roman parents in Scotland or Wales in the late fourth century.

As you might expect, Saint Patrick’s Day is a huge deal in his old stomping grounds. It’s a national holiday in both Ireland and Northern Ireland.

New York City’s Saint Patrick’s Day Parade is one of the world’s largest parades. Since 1762, 250,000 marchers have traipsed up Fifth Avenue on foot – the parade still doesn’t allow floats, cars, or other modern trappings.

She was so cute with her bow, I had to get a photo of her by herself.

New York may have more manpower, but Chicago has a spectacle all its own. The city has been celebrating Saint Patrick by dumping green dye into the Chicago River since 1962. It takes 40 tons of dye to get the river to a suitably festive shade!

How did the shamrock become associated with Saint Patrick? According to Irish legend, the saint used the three-leafed plant as a metaphor for the Holy Trinity when he was first introducing Christianity to Ireland.

In Irish lore, Saint Patrick gets credit for driving all the snakes out of Ireland. Modern scientists suggest that the job might not have been too hard – according to the fossil record, Ireland has never been home to any snakes.

Through the Ice Age, Ireland was too cold to host any reptiles, and the surrounding seas have staved off serpentine invaders ever since. Modern scholars think the “snakes” Saint Patrick drove away were likely metaphorical.

Redheads are always popular on St. Patrick’s Day.

All of the Saint Patrick’s Day revelry around the globe is great news for brewers. A 2012 estimate pegged the total amount spent on beer for Saint Patrick’s Day celebrations at $245 million. And that’s before tips to pubs’ bartenders.

According to Irish legend, Saint Patrick wasn’t originally called Patrick. His birth name was Maewyn Succat, but he changed his name to Patricius after becoming a priest.

You have to love an attractive girl wearing a shirt like this.

I thought these two girls were very attractive.

There was even a Leprechaun at Griff’s for the party.

I like St. Patrick’s Day because everyone is usually dressed up in their green colors.

Don’t be fooled by any holiday decorations showing lady leprechauns. In traditional Irish folk tales, there are no female leprechauns, only nattily attired little guys.

Another little-known fact from Irish lore: Leprechauns earned that gold they’re guarding. According to legend, leprechauns spend their days making and mending shoes. It’s hard work, so you can’t blame them for being territorial about their pots of gold.